This entry has been written from an ‘out of character’ perspective to discuss the 2nd draft Industrial ship revamp.

CCP Rise has unveiled the re-think on re-balancing the Industrial ship class, which is summed up here.

It think it looks a lot better than the initial proposal, and this is probably a decent enough path for things to take for now. The selection of indy ships out there should be a bit more varied and interesting than they have in the past, although the changes at first glance may not go in the direction I was hoping for.

The Badger looks to be gaining in combat capability the most, gaining a launcher slot to go with a turret slot, a substantial HP buff and more slots. So maybe this will become the hauler that gets to actually and credibly defend itself. I hope so, as that would bring some much needed variety to this ship class. Sadly though, looking across the new line-up, this might be the only ship that gets to make that claim.

The other ship that stands out for me is the revamped Hoarder. This is going to become the only indy with a dedicated ammunition bay. As such, I can see the Hoarder becoming the go-to ship used in long structure bashes when that call goes out for more ammo to be brought in. Funnily enough, this is also the only indy other than the Badger to be getting two weapon hard points in this case two turrets. There will also be more slots and a buff to HP with could make it into a reasonably tanky hauler. As the new 40,000m3 ammo bay won’t be needing any cargohold expanders in its low slots, those will be freed up for other uses.

The rest of the specialty bays I’m on the fence about. Does EVE need a T1 hauler specialising in PI goods? I’m not sure. I’m also not sure why I find it odd to have a dedicated PI or Mineral hauler, but I’m instinctively ok with an Ore hauler (although that can be used to move any type ore including Gas or Ice). Maybe my brain is struggling to let go of the ‘realism’ factor and getting hung up over why so many of these ships are so picky about what can be put inside them.

Maybe I just really wanted to fly EVE’s answer to the Millenium Falcon. 😉

A greater diversity of ships is usually a good thing in EVE, and time will soon tell if these changes prove to be giving industrialists a broader range of meaningful options, or of we will just end up ignoring many of these ships if they turn out to not fill a need. I suppose ultimately that is the final measure of any balance changes made to the game. If the changes work, we shall a broader range of ships being flown, if not, we will simply see the rise of a new meta.

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One Response to Millenium Badger?

The PI bay will be nice. If you have a planet set up to do just manufacturing, you’ll be hauling 30 to 40k m3 of raw material at a go. Or if you are lazy, the customs office could end up stuffed with 35k m3 of materials, and picking them up in one go would be nice. In theory, you have the same tanking/fleeing needs as a ore carrier as null PI > low sec PI > high sec PI. You have extra low slots for tank or warp core stabs, since you won’t need cargo hold expanders.

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